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Home , Amythaon, Iasus, Perimedes, Tiresias, Tiresias (horse)

248 : THE [562-74]

'You think we are headed home, our own dear land? BOOK ELEVEN Well, sets us a rather different course . . . 620 down to the House of Death and the awesome one, , there to consult the ghost of , seer of Thebes.'

So I said, and it broke my shipmates' hearts. They sank down on the ground, moaning, tore their hair. But it gained us nothing-what good can come of grtef?

Back to the swift ship at the water's edge we went, our spirits deep in anguish. faces wet with tears. But Circe got to the dark hull before us, tethered a ram and black ewe dose by- slipping past unseen. Who can glimpse a god 630 who wants to be invisible gliding here and therer The I

"Now down we came to the ship at the water's edge, we hauled and launched her into the sunlit breakers first, stepped the mast in the black craft and set our sail and loaded the sheep aboard, the ram and ewe, then we ourselves embarked, streaming tears, our hearts weighed down with anguish ... But Circe the awesome with lovely braids who speaks with human voice, sent us a hardy shipmate, yes, a fresh following wind ruffling up in our wake, bellying out our sail to drtve our blue prow on as we, 10 securing the running gear from stem to stern, sat back while the wind and helmsman kept her true on course. The sail stretched taut as she cut the sea all day and the sun sank and the roads of the world grew dark.

249 250 HOMER: [13-45/ [45-761 BOO K 11: TH E KINGD O M OF THE D EAD 251

And she made the outer limits. the Ocean ruver's bounds and burn them both, and then say prayers to the gods. where Cimmerian people have their homes-their realm and city to the almighty god of death and dread Persephone. shrouded in mist and cloud. The eye of the Sun can never But I, the sharp sword drawn from beside my hip, flash his rays through the dark and bring them light, sat down on alert there and never let the ghosts not when he climbs the starry skies or when he wheels of the shambling, shiftless dead come near that blood back down from the heights to touch the earth once more­ 20 till I had questioned Tiresias myself. an endless, deadly night overhangs those wretched men. But first There, gaining that point, we beached our craft the ghost of , my companion, came toward me. and herding out the sheep, we picked our way He'd not been buried under the wide ways of earth, by the Ocean's banks until we gained the place not yet, we'd left his body in Circe's house, that Circe made our goal. unwept, unburied-this other labor pressed us. 60 Here at the spot But I wept to see him now, pity touched my heart and Eurylochus held the victims fast, and I called out a winged word to him there: 'Elpenor, and I. drawing my sharp sword from beside my hip, how did you travel down to the world of darkness? dug a trench of about a forearm's depth and length Faster on foot, I see, than I in my black ship.' and around it poured libations out to all the dead, first with milk and honey, and then with mellow wine, 30 My comrade groaned as he offered me an answer: then water third and last, and sprinkled glistening barley 'Royal son of , , old campaigner. over it all, and time and again I vowed to all the dead, the doom of an angry god, and god knows how much wine­ to the drifting, listless spirits of their ghosts. they were my ruin, captain .. . I'd bedded down that once I returned to Ithaca I would slaughter on the roof of Circe's house but never thought a barren heifer in my halls, the best I had, to climb back down again by the long ladder- 70 and load a pyre with treasures-and to Tiresias. headfirst from the roof I plunged, my neck snapped alone, apart, I would offer a sleek black ram. from the backbone. my soul flew down to Death. Now, the pride of all my herds. And once my vows I beg you by those you left behind, so far from here, and prayers had invoked the nations of the dead, your wife, your father who bred and reared you as a boy, I took the victims, over the trench I cut their throats 40 and , left at home in your halls, your only son. and the dark blood flowed in-and up out of they came, Well I know when you leave this lodging of the dead flocking toward me now, the ghosts of the dead and gone ... that you and your ship will put ashore again Brides and unwed youths and old men who had suffered much at the island of Aeaea-then and there, and girls with their tender hearts freshly scarred by sorrow my lord, remember me, I beg you! Don't sail off and great armies of battle dead, stabbed by bronze spears, and desert me, left behind unwept, unburied, don't, 80 men of war still wrapped in bloody armor- thousands or my curse may draw god's fury on your head. swarming around the trench from every side- No, bum me in full armor, all my harness, unearthly cries-blanching terror gripped me! heap my mound by the churning gray surf- I ordered the men at once to flay the sheep a man whose luck ran out- that lay before us, killed by my ruthless blade, 50 so even men to come will learn my story. 252 HOMER : THE ODY SSEY {77-105] [105-37] BOOK ll: THE KINGDOM OF THE DEAD 253

Perform my rites, and plant on my tomb that oar to curb their wild desire and curb your own, what's more, I swung with mates when I rowed among the living.' from the day your good trim vessel first puts in 120 at Thrinacia Island, flees the cruel blue sea. 'All this, my unlucky friend,' I reassured him, There you will find them grazing, 'I will do for you. I won't forget a thing.' herds and fat flocks, the cattle of Hellos, So we sat god of the sun who sees all, hears all things. and faced each other, trading our bleak parting words, 90 Leave the beasts unharmed, your mind set on home, I on my side, holding my sword above the blood, and you all may still reach Ithaca-bent with hardship, he across from me there, my comrade's true-but harm them in any way, and I can see it now: dragging out his story. your ship destroyed, your men destroyed as well. But look, the ghost And even if you escape, you'll come home late of my mother camel My mother, dead and gone now ... and come a broken man-all shipmates lost, 130 Anticleia--daughter of that great heart ­ alone in a stranger's ship- whom I had left alive when I sailed for sacred . and you will find a world of pain at home, I broke into tears to see her here, but filled with pity, crude, arrogant men devouring all your goods, even throbbing with grief, I would not let her ghost courting your wife, offering gilts to win her. approach the blood till I had questioned Tiresias myself. No doubt you will pay them back in blood when you come home! But once you have killed those suitors in your halls- At last he came. The of the famous Theban prophet, 100 by stealth or in open fight with slashing bronze- holding a golden scepter, knew me at once and hailed me: go forth once more, you must ... 'Royal son of Laertes, Odysseus, master of exploits, carry your well-planed oar until you come man of pain, what now, what brings you here, to a race of people who know nothing of the sea, 140 forsaking the light of day whose food.is never seasoned with salt strangers all to see this joyless kingdom of the dead? to ships with their crimson prows and long slim oars, Stand back from the trench-put up your sharp sword Wings that make ships fly. And here is your sign­ so I can drink the blood and tell you all the truth.' unmistakable, dear, so clear you cannot miss it: When another traveler falls in with you and calls Moving back I thrust my silver-studded sword that weight across your shoulder a fan to winnow grain, deep in its sheath, and once he had drunk the dark blood then plant your bladed, balanced oar in the earth the words came ringing from the prophet in his power: 110 and sacrifice fine beasts to the lord god of the sea, 'A sweet smooth journey home, renowned Odysseus, -a ram, a bull and a ramping wild boar­ that is what you seek then journey home and render noble offerings up 150 but a god will make it hard for you-I know- to the deathless gods who rule the vaulting skies, you will never escape the one who shakes the earth, to all the gods in order. quaking with anger at you still, still enraged And at last your own death will steal upon you . .. because you blinded the , his dear son. a gentle, painless death, far from the sea it comes Even so, you and your crew may still reach home, to take you down, borne down with the years in ripe old age suffering all the way, if you only have the power With all your people there in blessed peace around you. BOOK 11: THE K I NGDOM OF THE DEAD 254 HOMER: THE ODYSSEY (137~1 (168-99] 255

All that I have told you will come true.' I first set sail with King bound for Troy, 'Oh Tiresias,' the stallion-land, to fight the Trojans there. I replied as the prophet finished, 'surely the gods But tell me about yourself and spare me nothing. have spun this out as fate, the gods themselves. What form of death overcame you, what laid you low,

But tell me one thing more, and tell me clearly. 160 some long slow illness? Or did showering arrows I see the ghost of my long-lost mother here before me. come with her painless shafts and bring you down? Dead, crouching close to the blood in silence, Tell me of father, tell of the son I left behind: she cannot bear to look me in the eyes- do my royal rights still lie in their safekeeping? her own son-or speak a word to me. How, Or does some stranger hold the throne by now lord, can I make her know me for the man I am?' because men think that I'll come home no more? 200 Please, tell me about my wife, her turn of mind, 'One rule there is.' the famous seer explained, her thoughts . . . still standing fast beside our son, 'and simple for me to say and you to learn. still guarding our great estates, secure as ever now? Any one of the ghosts you let approach the blood Or has she wed some other countryman at last, will speak the truth to you. Anyone you refuse the finest prince among them?' will turn and fade away.' 'Surely, surely.'

And with those words, 170 my noble mother answered quickly, 'she's still waiting now that his prophecies had closed, the awesome shade there in your halls, poor woman, suffering so, of lord Tiresias strode back to the House of Death. her life an endless hardship like your own ... But I kept watch there, steadfast till my mother wasting away the nights, weeping away the days. approached and drank the dark clouding blood. No one has taken over your royal rights, not yet. 210 She knew me at once and wailed out in grief Telemachus still holds your great estates in peace, and her words came winging toward me, flying home: he attends the public banquets shared vvith all, 'Oh my son-what brings you down to the world the feasts a man of justice should enjoy, of death and darkness? You are still alive! for every lord invites him. As for your father, It's hard for the living to catch a glimpse of this . . . he keeps to his own farm-he never goes to town­

Great rivers flow between us, terrible waters, 180 With no bed for him there, no blankets, glossy throws; the Ocean first of all-no one could ever ford all \-\'inter long he sleeps in the lodge with servants, that stream on foot, only aboard some sturdy craft. in the ashes by the fire, his body wrapped in rags. Have you just come from Troy, wandering long years But when sununer comes and the bumper crops of harvest, with your men and ship? Not yet returned to Ithaca? any spot on the rising ground of his vineyard rows 220 You've still not seen your wife inside your halls?' he makes his bed, heaped high with fallen leaves, 'Mother,' and there he lies in anguish . .. I replied, 'I had to venture down to the House of Death, With his old age bearing hard upon him, too, to consult the shade of Tiresias, seer of Thebes. and his grief grows as he longs for your return. Never yet have I neared Achaea, never once And I with the grief, I died and met my fate. set foot on native ground, No sharp-eyed Huntress showering arrows through the halls ai-Nays wandering--endless hardship from that day 190 approached and brought me down with painless shafts, [23()-61} BOOK 11: THE KINGDOM OF THE DEAD 257 256 HOMER: THE ODYSSEY [200--29} nor did some hateful illness strike me, that so often and the more I thought, the more this seemed the best: devastates the body, drains our limbs of power. Drawing forth the long sharp sword from beside my hip, I would not let them drink the dark blood, all in a rush, No, it was my longing for you, my shining Odysseus­ 230 you and your quickness, you and your gentle ways­ and so they waited, coming forward one after another. that tore away my life that had been sweet.' Each declared her lineage, and I explored them all.

And the first I saw there? , born of kings, And I, my mind in turmoil, how I longed to embrace my mother's spirit, dead as she was! who said her father was that great lord Salrnoneus, Three times I rushed toward her, desperate to hold her, said that she was the wife of , ' son. 270 three times she fluttered through my fingers, sifting away And once she fell in love with the river god, Enipeus, like a shadow, dissolving like a dream, and each time far the dearest river flowing across the earth, the grief cut to the heart, sharper, yes, and I, and so she'd haunt Enipeus' glinting streams, I cried out to her, words winging into the darkness: till taking his shape one day the god who girds the earth and makes it tremble 'Mother-why not wait for me? How I long to hold you!­ 240 so even here, in the House of Death, we can fling bedded her where the swirling river rushes out to sea, our loving arms around each other, take some joy and a surging wave reared up, high as a mountain, dark, in the tears that numb the heart. Or is this just arching over to hide the god and mortal girl together. some wraith that great Persephone sends my way Loosing her virgin belt, he lapped her round in sleep to make me ache with sorrow all the more?' and when the god had consummated his work of love 280 he took her by the hand and hailed her warmly: My noble mother answered me at once: 'Rejoice in our love, my lady! And when this year 'My son, my son, the unluckiest man alive! has run its course you will give birth to glorious children­ This is no deception sent by Queen Persephone, bedding down with the gods is never barren, futile- this is just the way of mortals when we die. and you must tend them, breed and rear them well. Now home you go, and restrain yourself, I say, Sinews no longer bind the flesh and bones together­ 250 the fire in all its fury burns the body down to ashes never breathe your lover's name but know- once life slips from the white bones, and the spirit, I am Poseidon, god who rocks the earth!' rustling, flitters away .. . flown like a dream. But you must long for the daylight. Go, quickly. With that he dove back in the heaving waves Remember all these things and she conceived for the god and bore him , , 290 so one day you can tell them to your wife.' and both grew up to be stalwart aides of almighty, both men alike. Pelias lived on the plains of Iolcos, And so we both confided, trading parting words, rich in sheepflocks, Neleus lived in sandy . and there slowly came a grand array of women, And the noble queen bore sons to Cretheus too: all sent before me now by august Persephone, , and Amythaon, exultant charioteer. and all were wives and daughters once of princes. 260 They swarmed in a flock around the dark blood And after Tyro I saw ' daughter Antiope, Proud she'd spent a night in the arms of Zeus himself w~ile I searched for a way to question each alone, OF THE DEAD 259 258 HOMER: THE ODYSSEY [262-91] [291-322] BOOK 11 : THE KINGDOM

and borne the god twin sons, and Zethus, Only the valiant seer Melampus volunteered- the first to build the footings of seven-gated Thebes, he would drive them home- her bastions too, for lacking ramparts none could live 300 but a god's iron sentence bound him fast: in a place so vast, so open-strong as both men were. barbarous herdsmen dragged him off in chains. Yet when the months and days had run their course And I saw Alcmena next, 's wife, and the year wheeled round and the seasons came again, who slept in the clasp of Zeus and merged in love then mighty Iphiclus loosed the prophet's shackles, and brought forth , rugged ·will and lion heart. once he had told him all the gods' decrees. And I saw Megara too, magnanimous 's daughter And so the will of Zeus was done at last. 340 wed to the stalwart Herades, the hero never daunted. And I saw Leda next, Tyndareus' wife, And I saw the mother of , beautiful . who'd borne the king two sons, intrepid twins, What a monstrous thing she did, in all innocence­ Castor, breaker of horses, and the hardy boxer Polydeuces, she married her own son ... both buried now in the life-giving earth though still alive. who'd killed his father, then he married her! 310 Even under the earth Zeus grants them that distinction: But the gods soon made it known to all mankind. one day alive, the next day dead, each twin by turns, So he in growing pain ruled on in beloved Thebes, they both hold honors equal to the gods'. lording ' people- thanks to the gods' brutal plan­ while she went down to Death who guards the massive gates. And I saw Iphimedeia next, Aloeus' wife, Lashing a noose to a steep rafter, there she hanged aloft, who claimed she lay in the Sea-lord's loving waves strangling in all her anguish, leaving her son to bear and gave the god two sons, but they did not live long, 350 the world of horror a mother's Furies bring to life. Otus staunch as a god and far-famed Ephialtes. They were the tallest men the fertile earth has borne, And I saw magnificent , the one whom Neleus the handsomest too, by far, aside from renowned . wooed and won with a hoard of splendid gifts, Nine yards across they measured, even at nine years old, so dazzled by her beauty years ago ... 320 nine fathoms tall they towered. They even threatened the youngest daughter of ' son Amphion, the deathless gods they'd storm Olympus' heights the great Minyan king who ruled Orchomenos once. with the pounding rush and grinding shock of battle. She was his queen in Pylos, she bore him shining sons, They were wild to pile Ossa upon Olympus, then on Ossa and Chromius, Peridymenus too, good prince. Pelion dense with timber-their toeholds up the heavens. And after her sons she bore a daughter, majestic Pero, And they'd have won the day if they had reached peak strength 360 the marvel of her time, courted by all the young lords but the son of Zeus, whom sleek-haired Leto bore, round about. But Neleus would not give her to any suitor, laid both low before their beards had sprouted, none but the man who might drive home the herds covering cheek and chin with a fresh crop of down. that powerful Iphiclus had stolen. Lurching, broad in the brow, those longhomed beasts, 330 Phaedra and Procris too I saw, and lovely Ariadne, and no small task to round them up from Phylace. daughter of , that harsh king. One day Theseus tried 260 HOMER: THE ODYSS E Y [352-83] BOOK 11: THE KIN G DOM OF T HE D EAD 261 to spirit her off from Crete to ' sacred heights His send-off rests with every noble here 400 but he got no joy from her. Artemis killed her first but with me most of all: on wave-washed Dia's shores, accused by . I hold the reins of power in the realm."

And I saw , Maera and loathsome Eriphyle­ Odysseus, deft and tactful, echoed back, bribed with a golden necklace •Aldnous, majesty, shining among your island people, to lure her lawful husband to his death . .. if you would urge me now to stay here one whole year But the whole cortege I could never tally, never name, then speed me home weighed down with lordly gifts, not all the daughters and wives of great men I saw there. I'd gladly have it so. Better by far, that way. Long before that, the godsent night would ebb away. The fuller my arms on landing there at home, But the time has come for sleep, either with friends the more respected, well received I'd be aboard your swift ship or here in your own house. by all who saw me sailing back to Ithaca.N 410 My passage home will rest with the gods and y ou.N

"Ah Odysseus, N replied, None look at you Odysseus paused . .. They all fell silent, hushed, and we know that you are no one who would cheat us­ his story holding them spellbound down the shadowed halls no fraud, such as the dark soil breeds and spreads till the white-armed queen suddenly burst out, across the face of the earth these days. Crowds of vagabonds "Phaeadans! How does this man impress you now, frame their lies so tightly none can test them. But you, his looks, his build, the balanced mind inside him? what grace you give your words, and what good sense within! The stranger is my guest You have told your story with all a singer's skill, but each of you princes shares the honor here. the miseries you endured, your great Achaeans too. So let's not be too hasty to send him on his way, But come now, tell me truly: your godlike comrades- and don't scrimp on his gifts. His need is great, did you see any heroes down in the House of Death, 420 great as the riches piled up in your houses, any who sailed with you and met their doom at Troy? thanks to the gods' good will. q The night's still young, I'd say the night is endless. Following her, For us in the palace now, it's hardly time for sleep. the old revered Echeneus added his support, Keep telling us your adventures-they are wonderful. the eldest lord on the island of Phaeada: I could hold out here till Dawn's first light "Friends, the words of our considerate queen­ if only you could bear, here in our halls, they never miss the mark or fail our expectations. to tell the tale of all the pains you suffered. n So do as Arete says, though on Alcinous here depend all words and action. n So the man of countless exploits carried on: "And so it will be"­ "Alcinous, majesty, shining among your island people, Aldnous stepped in grandly-usure as I am alive there is a time for many words, a time for sleep as well. 430 and rule our island men who love their oars! But if you insist on hearing more, I'd never stint Our guest, much as he longs for passage home, on telling my own tale and those more painful still, must stay and wait it out here till tomorrow, the griefs of my comrades, dead in the war's wake, till I can collect his whole array of parting gifts. who escaped the battle-cries of Trojan armies 262 HOMER: THE ODYSSEY {384--414] [415-44] BOOK 11: THE K I NG DOM OF THE DEAD 263 only to die in blood at journey's end­ for a wedding, banquet or groaning public feast. 470 thanks to a vicious woman's will. You in your day have witnessed hundreds slaughtered, Now then, killed in single combat or killed in pitched battle, true, no sooner had Queen Persephone driven off but if you'd laid eyes on this it would have wrenched your heart­ the ghosts of lovely women, scattering left and right, how we sprawled by the mixing-bowl and loaded tables there, than forward marched the shade of Atreus' son Agamemnon, throughout the palace, the whole floor awash with blood. fraught with grief and flanked by all his comrades, 440 But the death-cry of , 's daughter- troops of his men-at-arms who died beside him, the most pitiful thing I heard! My treacherous queen, who met their fate in lord Aegisthus' halls. Clytemnestra, killed her over my body, yes, and I, He knew me at once, as soon as he drank the blood, lifting my fists, beat them down on the ground, and wailed out, shrilly; tears sprang to his eyes, dying, dying, writhing around the sword. 480 he thrust his arms toward me, keen to embrace me there­ But she, that whore, she turned her back on me, no use-the great force was gone, the strength lost forever, well on my way to Death--she even lacked the heart now, that filled his rippling limbs in the old days. to seal my eyes with her hand or dose my jaws. I wept at the sight, my heart went out to the man, So, my words too, in a winging flight of pity: there's nothing more deadly, bestial than a woman 'Famous Atrides, lord of men Agamemnon! 450 set on works like these-what a monstrous thing What fatal stroke of destiny brought you down? she plotted. slaughtered her own lawful husband! Wrecked in the ships when lord Poseidon roused Why, I expected, at least, some welcome home some punishing blast of stormwinds, gust on gust? from all my children, all my household slaves Or did ranks of enenlles mow you down on land when I came sailing back again ... But she- as you tried to raid and cut off herds and flocks the queen hell-bent on outrage-bathes in shame 490 or fought to win their city, take their women?' not only herself but the whole breed of womankind, even the honest ones to come, forever down the years!' The field marshal's ghost replied at once: 'Royal son of Laertes, Odysseus, mastermind of war, So he declared and I cried out 'How terrible! I was not wrecked in the ships when lord Poseidon Zeus from the very start, the thunder king roused some punishing blast of stormwinds, gust on gust, 460 has hated the race of Atreus with a vengeance­ nor did ranks of enemies mow me down on land­ his trustiest weapon women's twisted wiles. Aegisthus hatched my doom and my destruction, What armies of us died for the sake of Helen ... he killed me, he with my own accursed wife ... Clytemnestra schemed your death while you were worlds away!' he invited me to his palace, sat me down to feast then cut me down as a man cuts down some ox at the trough! 'True, true,' Agamemnon's ghost kept pressing on, So I died-a wretched, ignominious death-and round me 'so even your own wife-never indulge her too far. 500 all my comrades killed, no mercy, one after another, Never reveal the whole truth, whatever you may know; just like white-tusked boars just tell her a part of it, be sure to bide the rest. butchered in some rich lord of power's halls Not that you, Odysseus, will be murdered by your wife. 264 HOMER: THE ODYSSEY [445-74] {474-502/ BOOK ll: THE KINGDOM OF THE DEAD 265

She's much too steady, her feelings run too deep, What greater feat can that cunning head contrive? Icarius' daughter , that wise woman. What daring brought you down to the House of Death?- She was a young bride, I well remember ... where the senseless, burnt-out wraiths of mortals make their home.' 540 we left her behind when we went off to war, with an infant boy she nestled at her breast. The voice of his spirit paused, and I was quick to answer: That boy must sit and be counted with the men now­ ', son of Peleus, greatest of the Achaeans, happy man! His beloved father will come sailing home 510 I had to consult Tiresias, driven here by hopes and see his son, and he will embrace his father, he would help me journey home to rocky Ithaca. that is only right. But my wife-she never Never yet have I neared Achaea, never once even let me feast my eyes on my own son; set foot on native ground ... she killed me first, his father! my life is endless trouble. I tell you this-bear it in mind, you must­ But you, Achilles, when you reach your homeland steer your ship there's not a man in the world more blest than you­ into port in secret, never out in the open ... there never has been, never will be one. the time for trusting women's gone forever! Time was, when you were alive, we Argives 550 honored you as a god, and now down here, I see, Enough. Come, tell me this, and be precise. you lord it over the dead in all your power. Have you heard news of my son? Where's he living now? 520 So grieve no more at dying, great Achilles.' Perhaps in Orchomenos, perhaps in sandy Pylos or off in the Spartan plains with ? I reassured the ghost, but he broke out, protesting, He's not dead yet, my Prince Orestes, no, 'No winning words about death to me, shining Odysseus! he's somewhere on the earth.' By god, I'd rather slave on earth for another man- So he probed some dirt-poor tenant farmer who scrapes to keep alive­ but I cut it short: 'Atrides, why ask me that? than rule down here over all the breathless dead. I know nothing, whether he's dead or alive. But come, tell me the news about my gallant son. It's wrong to lead you on with idle words.' Did he make his way to the wars, 560 did the boy become a -yes or no? So we stood there, trading heartsick stories, Tell me of noble Peleus, any word you've heard- deep in grief, as the tears streamed down our faces. still holding pride of place among his Myrmidon hordes, But now there came the ghosts of Peleus' son Achilles, 530 or do they despise the man in Hellas and in Phthia Patrodus, fearless Antilochus-and Great Ajax too, because old age has lamed his arms and legs? the first in stature, first in build and bearing For I no longer stand in the light of day- of all the Argives after Peleus' matchless son. the man I was-comrade-in-arms to help my father The ghost of the splendid runner knew me at once as once I helped our armies, killing the best fighters and hailed me with a flight of mournful questions: Troy could field in the wide world up there . . . 'Royal son of Laertes, Odysseus, man of tactics, Oh to arrive at father's house-the man I was, 570 reckless friend, what next? for one brief day-I'd make my fury and my hands, 266 HOMER: THE ODYSSEY [502-34} [534-63} BOOK 11: THE KINGDOM OF THE DEAD 267 invindble hands, a thing of terror to all those men he boarded his own ship, his body all unscarred. who abuse the king with force and wrest away his honor!' Not a wound from a flying spear or a sharp sword, 610 cut-and-thrust dose up--the marks of war. So he grieved but I tried to lend him hean: Random, raging plays no favorites.' 'About noble Peleus I can tell you nothing, So I said and but about your own dear son, , off he went, the ghost of the great runner, ' grandson I can repon the whole story, as you wish. loping with long strides across the fields of asphodel, I myself, in my trim ship, I brought him triumphant in all I had told him of his son, out of Scyros to join the Argives under arms. his gallant, glorious son. And dug in around Troy, debating battle-tactics, 580 he always spoke up first, and always on the mark­ Now the rest of the ghosts, the dead and gone godlike Nestor and I alone excelled the boy. Yes, came swarming up around me-deep in sorrow there, and when our armies fought on the plain of Troy each asking about the grief that touched him most. he'd never hang back with the main force of men­ Only the ghost of Great Ajax, son of Telamon, 620 he'd always charge ahead, kept his distance, blazing with anger at me still giving ground to no one in his fury, for the victory I had won by the ships that time and scores of men he killed in bloody combat. I pressed my claim for the arms of Prince Achilles. How could I list them all, name thein all, now, His queenly mother had set them up as prizes, the fighting ranks he leveled, battling for the Argives? and captive Trojans served as judges. But what a soldier he laid low with a bronze sword: 590 Would to god I'd never won such trophies! the hero , Telephus' son, and round him All for them the eanh closed over Ajax, troops of his own Cetean comrades slaughtered, that proud hero Ajax ... lured to war by the bribe his mother took. greatest in build, greatest in works of war The only man I saw to put Eurypylus of all the Argives after Peleus.' matchless son. 630 in the shade was Mernnon, son of the Morning. I cried out to him now, I tried to win him over: Again, when our champions climbed inside the horse 'Ajax, son of noble Telamon, still determined, that Epeus built with labor, and I held full command even in death, not once to forget that rage to spring our packed ambush open or keep it sealed, you train on me for those accursed arms? all our lords and captains were wiping off their tears, The gods set up that prize to plague the Achaeans- knees shaking beneath each man-but not your son. 600 so great a tower of strength we lost when you went down! Never once did I see his glowing sldn go pale; For your death we grieved as we did for Achilles' death­ he never flicked a tear from his cheeks, no, we grieved incessantly, true, and none's to blame he kept on begging me there to let him burst but Zeus, who hated Achaea's fighting spearmen from the horse, kept gripping his hilted sword, so intensely, Zeus sealed your doom. 640 his heavy bronze-tipped javelin, keen to loose Come closer, king, and listen to my story. his fighting fury against the Trojans. Then, Conquer your rage, your blazing, headstrong pride!' once we'd sacked King Priam's craggy dty, laden with his fair share and princely prize So I cried out but Ajax answered not a word. 268 HOMER: THE ODYSSEY {563-89/ {59~22/ B OOK ll: THE KI NGDOM OF T HE D E AD 269

He stalked off toward Ere bus, into the dark succulent figs and olives swelling sleek and dark, to join the other lost, depaned dead. but as soon as the old man would strain to clutch them fast Yet now, despite his anger, a gust would toss them up to the lowering dark clouds. 680 he might have spoken to me, or I to him, but the heart inside me stirred with some desire And I saw Sisyphus too, bound to his own tonure, to see the ghosts of others dead and gone. grappling his monstrous boulder with both arms working, heaving, hands struggling, legs driving, he kept on And I saw Minos there, illustrious son of Zeus, 650 thrusting the rock uphill toward the brink, but just firmly enthroned, holding his golden scepter, as it teetered, set to topple over- judging all the dead ... time and again Some on their feet, some seated, all clustering the immense weight of the thing would wheel it back and round the king of justice, pleading for his verdicts the ruthless boulder would bound and tumble down to the plain again­ reached in the House of Death with its all-embracing gates. so once again he would heave, would struggle to thrust it up, sweat drenching his body, dust swirling above his head. I next caught sight of Orion, that huge hunter, rounding up on the fields of asphodel those wild beasts And next I caught a glimpse of powerful Heracles­ 690 the man in life cut down on the lonely mountain-slopes, his ghost, I mean: the man himself delights brandishing in his hands the bronze-studded dub in the grand feasts of the deathless gods on high, that time can never shatter. wed to , famed for her lithe, alluring ankles, I saw Tityus too, 660 the daughter of mighty Zeus and shod in gold. son of the mighty goddess Earth-sprawling there Around him cries of the dead rang out like cries of birds, on the ground, spread over nine acres-two vultures scattering left and right in horror as on he carne like night, hunched on either side of him, digging into his liver, naked bow in his grip, an arrow grooved on the bowstring, beaking deep in the blood-sac, and he with his frantic hands glaring round him fiercely, forever poised to shoot. could never beat them off, for he had once dragged off A terror too, that sword-belt sweeping across his chest, the famous conson of Zeus in all her glory, a baldric of solid gold emblazoned with awesome work .. . 700 Leto, threading her way toward Pytho's ridge, bears and ramping boars and lions \vith wild, fiery eyes, over the lovely dancing-rings of Panopeus. and wars, routs and battles, massacres, butchered men. May the craftsman who forged that masterpiece- And I saw Tantalus too, bearing endless tonure. Whose skills could conjure up a belt like that- He stood erect in a pool as the water lapped his chin­ 670 never forge another! parched, he tried to drink, but he could not reach the surface, Heracles knew me at once, at first glance. no, time and again the old man stooped, craving a sip, and hailed me with a winging burst of pity: time and again the water vanished, swallowed down, 'Royal son of Laenes, Odysseus famed for exploits, laying bare the caked black earth at his feet- luckless man, you too? Braving out a fate as harsh some spirit drank it dry. And over his head as the fate I bore, alive in the light of day? 710 leafy trees dangled their fruit from high aloft, Son of Zeus that I was, my torments never ended, pomegranates and pears, and apples glowing red, forced to slave for a man not half the man I was: 270 HOMER: THE ODYSSEY {622-40} he saddled me with the worst heartbreaking labors. BOOK TWELVE Why, he sent me down here once, to retrieve the hound that guards the dead-no harder task for me, he thought­ but I dragged the great beast up from the underworld to earth and and gleaming-eyed blazed the way!'

With that he turned and back he went to the House of Death but I held fast in place, hoping that others might still come, shades of famous heroes, men who died in the old days no and ghosts of an even older age I longed to see, Theseus and , the gods' own radiant sons. But before I could, the dead came surging round me, hordes of them, thousands raising unearthly cries, and blanching terror gripped me-panicked now that Queen Persephone might send up from Death some monstrous hea

"Now when our ship had left the Ocean River rolling in her wake and launched out into open sea with its long swells to reach the island of Aeaea-east where the Dawn forever young has home and dancing-rings and the Sun his risings- heading in we beached our craft on the sands, the crews swung out on the low sloping shore and there we fell asleep, awaiting Dawn's first light.

As soon as Dawn with her rose-red fingers shone again I dispatched some men to Circe's halls to bring

the dead Elpenor's body. We rut logs in haste 10 and out on the island's sharpest jutting headland held his funeral rites in sorrow, streaming tears. Once we'd burned the dead man and the dead man's armor, heaping his grave-mound, hauling a stone that coped it well,

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